Dick Wadhams Will Seek Third Term As GOP Party Chair

Colorado Republican Party Chair Dick Wadhams will seek a third term as leader of the state party, he announced Tuesday in an email to supporters.

Wadhams, who was once hailed as one of the Republican Party's star strategists, has faced criticism in the months following the 2010 midterms elections. Anonymous GOP staffers called him "astonishingly ineffective," and "an impediment to success" for his perceived failure to vet the party's candidates.

In what was a great year for Republicans nationwide, Democrats captured the two headline races--for U.S. Senate and Governor--in Colorado.

Those who want us to vet candidates are asking for me or a small group of people to ultimately be the gatekeepers to who could get into the process and run. It's nonsensical. A year ago I was having the hell beat out of me... Because they thought I was playing kingmaker and recruiting [Gubernatorial candidate] Jane Norton to run.

On Tuesday, Wadhams acknowledged some failures in the 2010 season, but argued that Colorado Republicans had a lot to be content with as well. He pointed to victories in the Secretary of State race, the State Treasurer Race, two congressional races, and the GOP's recapturing of the State House as evidence of the party's strength.

"I want to serve as state chairman during the 2012 election cycle because of the extraordinary opportunities Colorado Republicans have to dramatically impact our state and nation," he said in his letter to Republicans."